Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Position Reduced by Keeler Thomas Management LLC

Key Points

• Keeler Thomas Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.1% during the first quarter, resulting in a holdings value of $625,000.
• Recent brokerages updates include Citigroup reducing its price target on Merck to $84.00 and several firms downgrading their ratings, suggesting a cautious outlook on the stock.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 4.1%, with a payout ratio currently at 49.92%.

Keeler Thomas Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 34.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,963 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,606 shares during the quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Tilson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.73. 6,882,063 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,387,496. The business's 50-day moving average price is $80.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.